The just-concluded two-day South-West summit in Akure, Ondo State, aimed to chart a new course for the region and revive the Golden Era of the old Western Region. But how far can this be achieved without ending as another talk shop with little result, like previous efforts? SEYE OLUMIDE reports.
For more than two decades, the South-West geopolitical zone has periodically convened summits aimed at repositioning the region for collective development. The idea has always been to rekindle the vision of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, whose progressive leadership in the defunct Western Region laid the foundation for modern governance, social welfare, and infrastructural advancement.
Yet, despite the lofty ideals and the calibre of personalities involved, from governors and traditional rulers to technocrats and civil society leaders, many of these gatherings have ended as ceremonial talk shops, with little evidence of the resolutions being implemented.
Since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democratic rule, the South-West has taken pride in being the cradle of progressive politics and development planning. The region has consistently sought ways to collaborate across state lines in areas such as education, industrialisation, security, agriculture, and infrastructure. However, the recurring question remains whether these efforts have translated into tangible results.
Taking a cursory look at the series of summits held across the region, the earliest attempt to revive regional cooperation came in 2001, when President Bola Tinubu, then the governor of Lagos State, convened the first post-democracy South-West Economic Summit in Lagos. The meeting, which drew other Alliance for Democracy (AD) governors, focused on economic integration and infrastructure development. Despite the enthusiasm, partisan differences and the loss of the AD-controlled states in 2003 slowed implementation.
In 2008, under the auspices of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, a regional think tank established by the governments of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti, another major South-West Economic Summit was held in Ibadan, Oyo State. The focus was to create a coordinated economic and development framework for the region. The event produced what became known as the DAWN Document, a blueprint for regional cooperation. But its adoption across the six states remained uneven, largely dependent on the political will of sitting governors.
By 2012, the region gathered again in Ado-Ekiti, hosted by then-Governor Kayode Fayemi. The theme, “Creating a Common Future Through Regional Integration,” aimed to consolidate the gains of the DAWN framework, particularly in education and agriculture. Yet, a change in leadership across some states once again interrupted momentum.
A more politically charged gathering took place in 2017 when Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State hosted the South-West Regional Integration Forum in Abeokuta. The focus was on leveraging regional unity to tackle youth unemployment, boost trade, and expand transportation networks. The forum ended with a communiqué that proposed regional rail links, a harmonised tax system, and a common security framework, all of which remained unrealised.
In 2019, amid growing security concerns across the region, the governors met in Ibadan under the umbrella of the South-West Governors’ Forum. That summit gave birth to the Amotekun Security Network, the first tangible outcome of a regional decision. The creation of Amotekun was widely celebrated as proof that the region could move beyond talk. However, challenges in funding, coordination, and federal resistance have since limited the outfit’s effectiveness.
Another significant summit took place in 2021, when governors and key stakeholders gathered in Lagos under the theme “Repositioning the South-West for Economic Competitiveness.” It focused on public-private partnerships, regional trade, and technology-driven governance. The summit emphasised collaboration in road infrastructure and agricultural value chains but, again, lacked sustained follow-through.
However, this just concluded exercise in Ondo State has attracted a lot of scepticism from stakeholders, who believe the summit should not just come and end without anything significant to show for it, like the previous exercise.
Although the summit drew the participation of all six South-West governors, top traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife, Alaafin-in-Council, Afenifere leaders and DAWN. The host, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, described it as an opportunity “to move beyond political divides and pursue practical development rooted in the Awolowo welfarist ideology.”
Repeated promises, repeated disappointments
OBSERVERS note that the problem has never been the lack of ideas, but the unwillingness of successive governors to institutionalise regional cooperation. Each summit has produced eloquent communiqués filled with visions of integrated transport systems, harmonised tax policies, shared power grids, and agricultural partnerships. But political rivalry, ego, and the absence of a central enforcement mechanism often stall progress.
But the Director-General of DAWN, Seye Oyeleye, confidently told The Guardian yesterday that the just-concluded summit was one with a difference, assuring that all resolutions arrived at would be implemented.
Although he once lamented that while the commission was set up to provide a regional policy direction, it “lacks the authority to compel governors to act collectively.” Instead, each state pursues its own agenda, often duplicating projects that could have been executed more efficiently through joint planning, Oyeleye said that things have changed and a solid synergy pattern has been put in place now to address that past shortcomings, “as the governors and other stakeholders have seen more cogent reasons to work as a team,” he said.
However, despite these shortcomings, there have been notable successes. The creation of Amotekun, the revival of Odua Investment Company, and the growing collaboration among commissioners of education and agriculture across the six states point to a gradual awakening. The DAWN Commission has also initiated discussions on a South-West Economic Corridor linking Lagos to other capitals by rail and expressways, although it is still in the conceptual stage.
In recent years, Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo have engaged in joint talks on border development and industrial corridor projects. Similarly, Ondo and Ekiti have collaborated on agricultural value chains and cocoa production. These small-scale initiatives demonstrate that regional cooperation is possible when politics is set aside.
Many are cautiously optimistic that the current summit in Akure may chart a new direction, given the presence of all governors and a renewed emphasis on implementation. Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, in his keynote address, urged the governors to “transcend party politics and recommit to Awolowo’s welfarist ideology.” He challenged them to back words with action by developing a concrete framework for monitoring resolutions and reporting progress annually.
Stakeholders doubt implementation of summit outcome
AMID high expectations surrounding the last summit in Ondo State, several stakeholders have expressed scepticism over whether its resolutions will translate into tangible action. Their concern is rooted in the region’s history of well-articulated but poorly implemented summit outcomes since the return of democracy in 1999.
While some believe it presents another opportunity to chart a common development path, others view it as a political platform subtly tailored toward advancing partisan interests ahead of the 2027 general elections.
A member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Liadi Tella, expressed disappointment at what he described as the “lukewarm coordination” of the current summit. According to him, the event lacked adequate publicity and inclusiveness, thereby limiting participation from critical stakeholders, including professionals, civil society groups, and youth leaders.
He also cast doubt on the likelihood of implementing the resolutions, noting that several previous summits had all produced detailed communiqués that were never followed through on.
Tella warned that without a structured mechanism for accountability, the new summit risks becoming “another talk shop,” he said.
“What I think is necessary is for the region to fully support the South-West Development Commission and other initiatives created by President Bola Tinubu to succeed. No regional agenda will work in isolation.
Our lawmakers from the six states should harmonise and pursue regional priorities through the National Assembly, while governors should be made to deliver on their commitments rather than attending summits that end on paper.”
Tella further cautioned that the frequency of regional summits has begun to raise suspicions among other parts of the country. According to him, some northern and southeastern elites perceive the South-West’s constant self-convening as an attempt to establish an alternative power bloc or parallel layer of governance under the cover of integration.
Similarly, Dr Olusanya Awosan, a former information expert under the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, questioned the sincerity of the organisers. He argued that the summit’s tone and timing give it a partisan outlook rather than a civic one. “Yes, there will be a fine communiqué with impeccable grammar at the end,” Awosan said, “but I doubt if there will be any serious implementation. The summit already appears to be a platform for promoting President Tinubu’s re-election agenda for 2027. What is missing is a clearly defined ideological vision to address issues like industrialisation, regional rail links, and youth unemployment. Let’s see if, in three months, any policy action follows.”
Awosan’s concerns echo a wider sentiment among observers who point to the lack of institutional follow-up mechanisms within the DAWN Commission, the regional coordinating body established in 2013 to drive the South-West’s development agenda. Although DAWN has produced several policy blueprints on education, agriculture, and security, implementation has been slowed by inconsistent political will and changes in government priorities.
A senior lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, who preferred anonymity, described the pattern as “a recurring tragedy of beautiful plans dying on paper.” He noted that each administration tends to abandon regional resolutions once the immediate political excitement fades. “The South-West is still battling the same problems of poor infrastructure, disjointed transportation, and rural poverty despite two decades of high-level summits,” he added.
On his part, Chief Kosolowoe Ajisafe, National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), urged caution against dismissing the summit outright. While acknowledging that previous gatherings had yielded little, he maintained that the current effort could still make a difference if the sincerity of purpose prevailed.
“The idea behind the summit is laudable. If the resolutions are adopted and implemented with genuine commitment, they can reposition the South-West economically and socially. But my fear, as always, is the lack of sincerity among political leaders to pursue what they collectively agree upon once the cameras are off,” Ajisafe said.
He believes that for the South-West to break free from this cycle, the region must institutionalise summit resolutions through binding frameworks within the State Houses of Assembly or the DAWN Commission. He also suggested the establishment of an independent monitoring team composed of non-partisan experts, civil society representatives, and private sector leaders to track implementation across states.
He said: “Until such deliberate steps are taken, the South-West may continue to host impressive summits and produce eloquent communiqués, without translating them into the integrated economic and developmental progress envisioned since the days of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
